10 to Remember from 2011-12
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 11, 2012
Second Half's mission in this, its first school year, was to tell the best stories behind the scores and highlights of MHSAA competition.
Of course, every score and especially every championship has a story behind it. The MHSAA awarded 127 team and many more individual championships in 2011-12. Obviously we can't reflect on them all. But these 10 performances were loaded with prestige, drama and accomplishment that made them incredible stories for high school sports fans regardless of hometown or allegiance.
10. Grand Ledge gymnasts earn No. 5
The Comets had to fend off a charge by Canton, but won their fifth-straight MHSAA team title by 0.825 of a point with a final score of 149.400. The fifth-straight title tied the record set by Ludington from 1975-79 and extended Grand Ledge's first-place streak to 75 consecutive events. The next day, senior Christine Wilson and junior Sara Peltier swept the Division 1 and 2 individual titles, respectively.
9. West Bloomfield's Erin Finn joins elite
The Lakers junior said after her Division 1 cross country win that she'd dreamt of winning that title since she learned how to walk. She finished fourth as a sophomore before winning the championship by a little more than a second. After establishing herself as one of the top distance runners in the country in competitions over the winter, Finn finished the school year by winning the 3,200-meter run at the Division 1 Track and Field Final.
8. More and more Morley Stanwood
The Mohawks girls pulled off a rare feat this school year -- after winning their second MHSAA volleyball title in the fall, they added a first-ever girls basketball championship. Both efforts were keyed by seniors Alexis Huntey and Bailey Cairnduf, who had the most and second-most kills in the Class C Volleyball Final and then combined for 45 points and 25 rebounds in the basketball championship game.
That argument was made after Lansing Sexton claimed its second-straight Class B boys basketball championship in dominant fashion. The Big Reds finished 27-1, their only loss by a point to Detroit Pershing, and have won 74 games over the last three seasons -- tied for sixth-most in MHSAA history for that long of a stretch. Guards Denzel Valentine (Michigan State), Anthony Clemmons (Iowa) and Bryn Forbes (Cleveland State) all signed to play at Division I colleges this fall, with junior Jalen Hayes and freshman Trevor Manuel likely joining them in a few years.
Coyotes junior Sami Michell established herself as one of the top hurdlers in MHSAA history at the Division 3 Final by becoming the first Lower Peninsula girl to win four events at a championship meet since Mason County Eastern’s Maria Shoup in 1979. She set Division 3 records in the 100 hurdles, 300 hurdles and long jump, and her 300 time also was the best in MHSAA Finals history, regardless of division or class. She also won the 200.
Top-ranked Grand Haven's latest run at an MHSAA championship seemed all but over when Grosse Pointe South led the Class A final by 18 points with just under 10 minutes to play. But Shar'Rae Davis' fullcourt sprint and score that began with 12 seconds to play gave the Buccaneers a 54-53 win and their first title. It was the third-longest comeback in MHSAA Girls Basketball Finals history.
Livonia Ladywood had been a favorite to win its first MHSAA title all season -- with four-year pitcher Briana Combs in the circle. But when Combs couldn't finish the Semifinal because of an injury, rarely-thrown sophomore Lauren Hayes stepped in. All she did was finish that game and throw a three-hitter against Saginaw Swan Valley in the Final, while also getting three hits and driving in two of the team's four runs in the championship win.
St. Johns senior Taylor Massa finished off one of the most celebrated careers in MHSAA wrestling history with his fourth championship and not one loss during his high school career. Massa claimed the title at 171 pounds this year to go with others at 145, 152 and 160. He became the 15th in MHSAA history to win four titles, ranks 20th with 221 wins and seventh in the national record book for consecutive victories.
Grosse Pointe South's girls running teams had arguably the most dominant school year in MHSAA history, first winning the Division 1 cross country title before doing the same this spring in track and field. And the Blue Devils did it with mostly the same nucleus contributing to both -- particularly juniors Hannah and Haley Meier, sophomore Kelsie Schwartz and freshman Ersula Farrow. Those four combined to run a national record time of 8:48.29 in the 3,200 relay at the Division 1 Final this spring.
1. Short walk, championship run
Second Half was created as a place to tell great stories, Cass Tech made it easy on the first day of the Football Finals. The Technicians arrived at Ford Field after a short walk from their school. They had never played in a Final before and were unranked entering the postseason. They arrived with a strong group of seniors, but also a freshman quarterback named Jayru Campbell who ended up throwing five touchdown passes in a 49-13 win over No. 2 and perennial powerhouse Detroit Catholic Central.
PHOTO: The Morley Stanwood girls basketball team prepares to celebrate as the final seconds tick off in the Mohawks' Class C Final win. (Click to see more photos from High School Sports Scene.)
Key Rebound, Putback in Breslin Return Help Send Brandywine to 1st Final
By
Keith Dunlap
Special for MHSAA.com
March 14, 2024
EAST LANSING — It couldn’t have been more ironic for Niles Brandywine that on a day when it was dominated in the rebounding category, it ended up getting the rebound that was most important of all.
Trailing McBain by two points during the final seconds of regulation in a Division 3 Semifinal on Thursday, Brandywine appeared to be done after senior Jaremiah Palmer missed a jumper that would have tied the game.
But senior Byron Linley was there for an offensive putback just before the buzzer sounded to tie the game and send it to overtime.
After seeing McBain score the first four points of the extra period, Brandywine answered with the next seven, the last three on a 3-pointer by senior Ja’Torian Smith with 18.9 seconds remaining that was ultimately the difference in a 51-48 Brandywine victory.
The Bobcats will make their first trip to a Final at 4:30 p.m. Saturday at Breslin Center.
“Byron was at the right place at the right time,” Brandywine head coach Nathan Knapp said. “Thank goodness for him. He’s one of our better shooters, and he’s in a little funk right now. That kind of lifted him a bit.”
McBain scored the first four points of overtime on consecutive baskets by freshman Clayton Heuker, but Brandywine answered with four straight of its own to tie the game at 48-48 with 1:04 remaining in the extra period.
After getting a stop with under a minute left, Brandywine moved the ball around and got an open look from 3-point range for Smith, who drained the shot from the left side of the floor to give Brandywine its final three-point lead with 18.9 seconds remaining.
“It is really just a confidence thing,” Smith said. “I shoot this shot 100,000 times. So it’s just following through and being confident with it.”
McBain turned the ball over on its next possession, giving Brandywine the ball back with 3.7 seconds remaining.
The Bobcats inbounded the ball and missed the two free throws following a foul, but there wasn’t enough time left for McBain to get off anything but a full-court heave that fell short just before the buzzer sounded.
“Once we get our kids with their backs to the wall, they’re resilient,” Knapp said.
Brandywine advanced despite being outrebounded 43-22 and shooting just 4 of 21 from 3-point range. The Bobcats made up for those deficiencies by forcing 27 McBain turnovers.
Smith scored 19 points, and Palmer added 12 for Brandywine (24-3).
Heuker scored 14 points and senior Evan Haverkamp added 12 for McBain (25-2).
“They did a great job,” McBain head coach Bruce Koopman said. “All year long, they just kept making me believe and believe. I wasn’t sure we were this good. They just battled every game and showed me so much this tournament.”
Brandywine also advanced to the Semifinals last season before falling to Traverse City St. Francis. The Bobcats didn’t lead Thursday until Smith drained a 3-pointer with 6:24 remaining to give his team a 36-35 lead.
McBain responded, answering with a 9-2 run over the next 3:31 to take a 44-38 lead with 2:53 left.
McBain held a 28-22 lead with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter, but Brandywine outscored the Ramblers 10-5 the rest of the quarter to cut the deficit to 33-32 going into the fourth.
The Ramblers started off strong, holding Brandywine to 16.7-percent shooting in the first quarter and taking a 16-8 lead after eight minutes. They then built their lead to 20-8 with 6:27 remaining in the second quarter before Brandywine found some rhythm on both ends.
The Bobcats ended the quarter on a 12-4 run to cut the McBain lead to 24-20 at halftime.
PHOTOS (Top) Brandywine's Nylen Goins (1) gets up a shot under the basket during his team's Division 3 Semifinal win Thursday. (Middle) The Bobcats' Ja'Torian Smith (12) shoots a 3-pointer as McBain's Evan Haverkamp defends. (Photos by Hockey Weekly Action Photos.)